Overview

Dehydrated hay is a recent product in-market that claims to absorb over five times its weight in water. A national feed provider markets
the dehydrated hay as an easy means of hydrating traveling horses due to the portability and the absorptive capacity of the product.
Six Standlee Premium Western Forage® products were tested against the dehydration hay product and evaluated on several factors. These
factors included: (1) volume of water absorbed, (2) time of absorption, (3) cost, (4) initial moisture content and (5) palatability.

Results

The dehydration hay product held true to its’ claims of absorptive capacity. That being said, it was determined that though the dehydrated
hay product absorbed more water more quickly, Standlee Premium Western Forage® products have more initial moisture, are cheaper, and
are a more palatable option than the dehydrated hay product.

The following chart illustrates the results based on the factors tested:

*Note on Cost per lb.- All product pricing derived from retail/in-store at D&B Supply in Idaho.

A feeding trial was completed with five horses. All five horses were given a choice between the dehydrated hay product and Standlee Premium
Western Forage® Alfalfa/Timothy Cubes, which are similar in composition to the dehydrated hay product. Of the five horses, three preferred
Standlee and two showed no interest in either option. None of the horses showed a preference to the dehydrated hay product.

Download the Nutritional Paper PDF

Conclusion

The dehydration hay product was able to absorb over five times its weight in water and it was able to do so relatively quickly. However,
Standlee Premium Western Forage® products remain a greatly viable alternative to the dehydration hay product. All six Standlee products
were able to absorb water while starting out with higher moisture contents. Furthermore, Standlee Premium Western Forage® proved to
be a more palatable option, while averaging less than a third of the price of the dehydrated hay product.